Hartford Business Journal

6 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 7, 2023 DEAL WATCH Attempt to build and sell downtown Hartford condos ends with rentals — for now By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com W hile no condos have been added to downtown Hart- ford in well over a decade, there was a recent attempt. Jose Ramirez in 2017 paid $250,000 for the top four of five floors at 289 Asylum St., a century-old, former hotel that he converted into the Hartford Lofts residential units. The $1.5 million conversion, financed with $485,000 in loans from the Capital Region Development Authority, was completed in 2019, and yielded eight loft-style condos. But the formation of a condo associ- ation proved challenging due, in part, to a disagreement with the owner of the 5,200-square-foot, first-floor commercial space underneath the Hartford Lofts, Ramirez said. As a result, Ramirez said he was forced to rent his residential units as apartments. "We had a difference of opinion with the owner of the first-floor unit," Ramirez said. "Our plan was to sell the residential units, but we needed to stabilize the association. We were never able to move forward." Ramirez said he still eventually plans to offer the residential units for sale as condos. And he took a step in trying to make that happen in May 2022, when he purchased the first floor of 289 Asylum St. for $290,000, giving him control of the building. Months later, however, Ramirez lost his first-floor restaurant tenant, Fornarelli's Ristorante & Bar, which closed. Ramirez said he needs to find a new tenant before he moves forward with plans to sell the residential units. He's hoping for another restaurant. "A stable, good first-floor tenant, that is the main condition for going condo," Ramirez said. Ramirez said he's seen interest from potential condo buyers. "Every year we have been looking at the condo market, it seemed viable," Ramirez said. "I'm seeing a lot of condos change hands and hearing anecdotally that people are looking for newer condos that don't quite exist." Business duo pays $3.3M for big chunk of long-struggling Waterbury mall; retail overhaul eyed By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com T he Macy's at one corner of Waterbury's Brass Mill Center went dark more than two years ago amid retail struggles nationally and declining popularity of the city's mall. Now, two brothers who own Ashley Homestores in Newington and Manchester have paid $3.3 million for the shuttered 161,744-square- foot building, with big plans for a retail turnabout. Sami and Nazeeh Abunasra are the principals of a limited liability company that purchased the former Macy's property, and 11.45 associ- ated acres, in a deed logged July 21. The hope, Sami Abunasra said, is to transform that corner of the mall into a retail plaza, much like the bustling Brass Mill Commons prop- erty located just west of the mall on Union Street. The roughly 200,000-square-foot Commons is anchored by a Dick's Sporting Goods store, and hosts popular retailers like TJ Maxx, Barnes & Noble and Petco. Abunasra said he plans to recon- figure the former Macy's site into a plaza of separate retailers. An Ashley outlet will occupy about 30,000 square feet, he said. He hasn't, however, ruled out additional, non-retail uses. For example, a separately owned building on the grounds of the Brass Mill Commons hosts the nonprofit State Education Resource Center. Abunasra is also exploring the potential of adding free-standing retail buildings on the expansive parking lot. Final designs will depend on discussions with the owner of the attached mall property, as well as city officials, Abunasra said. So far, all parties have been agree- able, he said. "I think this location is probably the best retail location in all of Water- bury," said Abunasra, who is also currently pursuing final permitting for a 150-unit apartment development in West Hartford. "It's right off the highway. The visibility is amazing." The remainder of the 1.2 million- square-foot mall property is split between two owners. Transformco Properties, of Illinois, The former Macy's store property in Waterbury's Brass Mill Center mall has sold to developers looking to bring in new retail tenants. Jose Ramirez converted the upper floors of 289 Asylum St. (shown above) in downtown Hartford to condos that he is currently renting. PHOTO | COSTAR PHOTO | COSTAR owns a 135,503-square-foot portion that caps the mall's west side, as well as a free-standing 22,144-square-foot building. The buildings previously hosted a Sears and Sears Auto Center, both of which closed several years ago. In April 2022, Long Island-based Kohan Retail Investment Group bought the central 907,612-square- foot portion of the mall for $18.9 million. Kohan also paid $26 million for the 196,496-square-foot Brass Mill Commons, the far smaller, but more popular neighboring retail center. Less than a year later, in February 2023, Kohan put the Commons up for sale, with an asking price of $30 million. That property, being brokered by Pennsylvania-based Forged Realty, remains on the market. The sale of the Macy's site was touted by Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary as affirmation of the area's enduring potential. "The sale of Macy's to a national furniture store confirms that the mall is still a viable retail site," O'Leary said. "Hopefully this will attract other buyers and tenants. This is good news for Waterbury."

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